‘Reversing’ De Castro

By DODY LACUNA

December 08, 2017

MALACAÑANG can no longer be intimidated by the likes of Piston leader George San Mateo. Tens of thousands of office workers and students had been stranded due to scores of transport strikes for some years now and thought there was end in sight for the oppression. There was no avenue through which they could seek any legal recourse or retribution for their troubles caused by these street anarchists. Past administrations have practically been cowed by the tyranny of San Mateo’s militant group and other transport organizations. Today, he is no match to a willful and headstrong president like Rodrigo Duterte who is no longer counting on their votes and those of thousands of their followers and sympathizers as he faces no reelection. The riding public could only gloat at the news videos of San Mateo who still thought of himself as some kind of a hero while he scuffled with arresting police officers. He raised a clenched fist which seemed to amplify his and his group’s defiance to the welfare and safety of the riding public which they often subverted. His left-leaning Piston now takes the frontline facing the government’s avowed crackdown on dilapidated and polluting public utility jeepneys. Good luck!

Supreme Court Associate Senior Justice Teresita De Castro certainly would not openly admit her animosity towards Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno, her main rival for the top judiciary post after it was left vacant with the ouster of Renato Corona. No public official has of yet announced in the media his or her personal grievance and discontent over such an intense professional blow .The ugly head of politics had loomed larger than ever in the selection of Sereno, the most junior among the 15 SC justices after then President Noynoy Aquino ignored the most senior De Castro and the outstanding Antonio Carpio. Aquino thought of them to be loyal allies of then detained GMA. The Bible-reading Sereno should have felt strongly for the then devastated De Castro and shown her - and the rest of the country - a shinning example of respect and compassion. This columnist was half-expecting Sereno to defuse the animosity at the high court triggered by her unwelcome appointment through selflessness or sacrifice and humility - two essential Biblical principles that have guided the lives of true believers of God. Surely she was blessed to be the second youngest and the first woman to assume as Chief Justice of the high court. But, to serve for eighteen years spanning four administrations including two presidents after President Duterte was not meant to be additional “blessings” of achievement but an actual source of derision especially from de Castro. But, the greater achievement which would have stood out as her true legacy for which she would be “eternally” remembered was to shorten her term and allow De Castro to follow her as Chief Justice. That would mean vacating her much-coveted office after, say ten years, to give way to de Castro and probably to another justice of the high court. That would instill the humane and deeper side of the so-called collegial judicial exercise by breaking the bonds of tradition and professional pride to instead recognize and nurture the worth and significance of each one.

***

Face to face with a man who stared death in the face was kind of surreal because he was real. Capt Jeffrey Buada of the Scout Rangers single-handely rescued twenty-nine hostages at Marawi without firing a single shot. The young officer was paid a special tribute during the annual awarding ceremony of the Management Association of the Philippines (MPAP) at a Makati hotel. I had the privilege of shaking his hand and asked him if he thought of his wife and two kids when he went before some thirty terrorists unarmed. He had dropped his Armalite, his pistol and ammo belt, his flak jacket and helmet to talk to the Maute group holding the hostages, across the street. He pushed his loved ones away from his thoughts and was sure that nothing was going to happen “kung walang kikilos”. I asked him where his utter fearlessness at that moment came from and he said he did not know .But, he said he believed in God. And, to which I added your Protector, your Shield, your Deliverer and your Savior. Suddenly, tears welled up in his eyes.

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